It is common to process a variety of liquids into liquid components that are then utilized separately, once separated. In some instances, being able to trace the origin of a component of a liquid can be important. For example, when processing whole blood into blood components, it is important to be able to keep track of the origin of the blood components, e.g., to trace the origin to the original donor of the whole blood. If there is a pathogen detected in a blood component, the ability to track down the original donor, as well as make sure that none of the blood components are given to other patients, can potentially prevent the spread of pathogens in a population.
To implement tracking of liquid components, there is commonly a procedure for entering data prior to separating the liquids. In the example of blood components, an operator of a blood separator will typically scan a number of barcodes located on a container holding whole blood as well as on containers in which the blood components will be stored after being separated from the whole blood.
A procedure generated by an administrator indicates which barcodes should be scanned and the sequence in which the barcodes should be scanned. The tools available to an administrator for generating the procedure are limited. The procedures may be generated using text within a table or matrix. When creating the procedures, it can be difficult for an administrator to look at a table and determine what barcodes have already been selected for scanning as part of the procedure, and which have not yet been included in the procedure. Also, use of a table makes it difficult for an administrator to create a procedure that is efficient from the perspective of an operator. For example, an administrator may not appreciate that a procedure requires an operator to scan a barcode on a first container, followed by a barcode on a third container, and then scan a second barcode on the first container. As a result, the procedure may be complicated, inefficient, and lead to errors in entering the correct data, i.e., scanning the correct barcodes.
It is in light of these and other considerations that the embodiments described below have been invented. The embodiments described below are not limited to solving any particular problem, including the specific problems mentioned above. Therefore, this background section should not be used to limit any embodiment of the present invention, including the claimed embodiments.